Now that GX3 has been formed, now what? We were a female club created to provide female gamers with a SAFE environment to play. It wasn't so much about competition and being the best, but more about the passion for wanting to see other female gamers excel and providing an environment where they can act themselves and be supported. Being one of the first female gamers in the community really gave me a heads up on how HARD it really is for female gamers to really grow into top notch players, especially because this gaming community is 99% male dominated. I know many of you may flame me with the fact that "girls shouldn't have separated leagues/tournaments," but having played in both male and female teams, I have to admit there really is a significant difference between a female gamer and a male gamer. Though I'm sure I can probably write 10 pages on that subject, I'm going to save that for another blog....

So we go on finding girls around North America and start playing in online leagues for "fun." There was really no actual commitment-- we didnt practice much and played in online matches just to get ourselves some match experience. After awhile though, we really started to get into it and took it to a whole new level. Though 2002-2004, we revamped the team to a group of girls with a definite competitive nature. There was something about playing with 4 other females (AND BEATING MALES) that was so.... exhilarating!!! It was a rocky road to say the least. We participated in numerous online leagues, often making playoffs and then getting disapointed. We were often flamed by the community, as they figured we were easy targets, and were frequently called names, had our egos shattered, and dreams broken. Every year, girls came and went, some girls not being able to take the heat of the moment and eventually got cut or left the team themselves. GX3 was transforming into something other than just a friendly club, but a competitive female team that had the drive to be the best. It wasn't just the fact of making an impact on the female community, but it was the dream of making an impact on the entire gaming community as a whole. We had a vision, something in our hearts that drove us passionately towards our goal. And even though this dream was first recognized 7 years ago, it is still a driving force for our team today.

So come 2004, we hear about this awesome opportunity to play in a female tournament in Paris, France called ESWC. The year prior, a team called "SK-Gaming" won the female tournament. I didn't know much about the international scene at this time, but I was so intrigued by it all.

6 months prior to the event, we must have sent out over 10,000 emails to different companies. We spent hours and hours researching different companies that might benefit from sponsoring a team in e-sports. New to the scene, we did not know who to contact and where to start. Mishl and I also tried calling companies, hoping to find someone to support our cause. I honestly felt like a telemarketer, but I knew this is what it would take for our name to get out there. 95% of the emails were ignored, but we only needed one response to help us achieve our dream, and indeed, we got super lucky.

Team GX3 was slowly losing hope. For the last 5 months, we had been trying our best to convince ANYONE that we were worth the investment. Then one month before ESWC, Sheryl Huang from Nvidia responded back to me. She had already been a supporter of e-sports, showing her face at numerous CPL's at the Nvidia stand. She knew the industry and truly wanted to help us, except there was really no money leftover in the Nvidia budget. Luckily, Sheryl was able to pull some strings and decided on a "one-event sponsorship" deal and depending on our results, would consider future events from then on. They purchased the tickets, wished us luck, and excited as hell, in June 2004, we went to Paris for the first time ever. I was 18 years old.

Just to give you guys an idea on my schedule, I recently started a new semester at school and started a new job at the bank. Last semester, I changed my major to math (it was marketing/communications before) because I've always been pretty good at it and have always had a passion for teaching. I figured since I was decent in math, I could use the passion I had for it and teach it to struggling kids. In my math classes, there are usually so many students that are always struggling and asking me for help. They always looked at me funny while I receieved an A on my tests while they failed. I think it is because I am Chinese and they are just stereotyping the fact that Asians are usually good with numbers. In reality, I really don't know why I'm good at math. I guess I am pretty decent at English too, since I thought about being an English teacher first, but figured since my vocabulary isn't that great, I should stick to math instead.

Regardless of the fact, the reason why I am telling you guys this story is because this semester I am currently taking 3 math classes. One of these classes, my statistics class, is randomly in a computer lab. I never sat in a seat with a computer so I didn't know the computers actually let us roam all over the internet. Therefore I am happy to say that since I sat on a desk with a computer today, I actually get to blog in class! This teacher has the worse monotone and is so boring. Finding out that I can actually get on the internet during class literally made my day. I am super tired today.....

Anyways, back to the matter at hand, we announced Mel today! As said in the article, she is a former champion of ESWC and we are so excited to have a full roster. In our ESEA league, we're currently on the week of de_strike so we're not very excited about practicing this map. After this week though, we can start playing more popular and normal maps. We just need to get through this week. We're definitely hoping to get some lan practice in before we have to go to Paris to defend our title at ESWC.

Holy crap, this class is insane. I guess I am not as involved in this class as my other math classes because the teacher is so freaking monotone. I have absolutely no idea what is going on in this class and I have never failed a class before. :( Why does it feel like I'm going to be failing this one? Blahs... maybe I should have stuck with Communications and Marketing all along....

I did start a poll on my profile hoping to find out what you guys want to see more of! Surprisingly, you guys want to see pictures. Dammit, I hardly take any pictures, and have no clue what to take pictures of, but I'm hoping I can hold you guys off with some old ESWC pictures until I can take some other good ones.

For those that didn't know, I live with 2 Gravitas members. My boo Ben and his teammate Derrick which some of you may know as Impulsive. They have been practicing hard for the EM finals and will be travelling to Germany in just a couple weeks. Supposebly, they will be turning our house into a bootcamp for a couple days so the entire team will be running around the house annoying me I'm sure. I'll take some vids while they're over so you guys can see Gravitas in action. Gravitas actually has been travelling pretty often so I've actually been home alone alot. When Ben's gone, I get to bed hog and steal the good pillows, so I never mind when he's not here. :P

Thank God this class is almost over and I can go home. I get out of class at 6:30pm and start practice at 7pm, so I usually have to drive like a maniac home to make it on time for practice. The things I do for my girls....... -_-

It's in the wee hours of the morning and the rest of the girls are sound asleep cuddling with their blankets. Sadly, we're at the end of our bootcamp and we're all flying back home tomorrow. We've never had such a short bootcamp!!!

In all, to say the least, the bootcamp was as I expected. Me and Benita flew throughout the night Friday to arrive in Chicago early Saturday morning. We went directly to meet Tobi at the Steel office to check out the setup and start practicing right away. We played all day Saturday and Sunday, working our hardest to improve our communication, strats, and teamwork. It's refreshing to play on lan together rather than have to speak through ventrilo online. Seeing the girls is always a nice sight, but seeing the commitment and dedication first hand in person is definitely a treat. Though we're sure there is always room for improvement, we know we're on our way to success. :)

Honestly, you would think that me and the girls actually went out to see the city or party and have a good time, but we're pretty serious about bootcamps and spent most of our time at the Steel office dedicated to improving our game. I know many of you may still be wondering who our 5th will be and I can only assure you that we will be announcing her very soon! We have spent a lot of time with different potential candidates to ensure that we will pick up the right candidate. With ESWC just a couple months away, we know we need to act quickly.

Other than ESWC, we're sure to be attending some local lans around North America throughout the year. This bootcamp was merely an opportunity for us to start the new year off right. Alex always said that the hardest part wasn't to win a tournament, but to keep the title and stay on top. I believe me and the girls really understand what it's going to take to stay on top. We're really hoping that THE ESWC CHAMPIONS will be able to bring it back for the 3rd time in a row. That would such an amazing accomplishment. Winning this year would honestly reassure me that I am definitely doing something right.

And by the way.... do you guys see the advertisement about our bootcamp/5th on the website? I'm holding the "G" by the way... I just figured I'd tell you guys since i think IT LOOKS NOTHING LIKE ME!!! :P

also, i owe a big thanks to someone from estro for my 1.1SE. (ill tell this story another time!) lots of people have been asking me recently about my mouse and where i got it. might want to refer to the steelseries website if you want to purchase one. it could be a big possibility they don't actually sell/make them anymore.... so in that case, tough luck! my mouse better not break any time soon!